Castration

An Abbreviated History of Western Manhood

Baker & TaylorTraces the history of castration exploring its origin to how it is percieved today.

Taylor & Francis PublishingCastration is a lively history of the meaning, function, and act of castration from its place in the early church to its secular reinvention in the Renaissance as a spiritualized form of masculinity in its 20th century position at the core of psychoanalysis.

Book NewsThough for the past century castration has signaled a loss of manhood, says Taylor (English and Renaissance studies, U. of Alabama), for most of western history it was a mark of power and divinity. He traces the meaning, function, and act from the words of Jesus in Matthew and early Christianity to its secular reinvention in the Renaissance and its 20th-century position at the core of psychoanalysis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)